CareLab Pet Project

Mudd Center Partnership with the University Museums and Library
Exhibition in Leyburn Library opens November 1, 2022

Submit Pet Project entry here

Caring well for others can be challenging. How do we, and how should we, actually practice sensitive and responsive care? The CareLab Pet Project will allow us to share what we have learned about care from beloved companion animals.

Participants are invited to submit an image of their pet and respond, in a few words, to one of these prompts:

  • What has your relationship with your pet taught you about caring well for yourself or others?
  • How has your pet taught you to care for someone else on their terms?

Pet Project entries will be exhibited, without identifying information about the participant, in online, social media, and in-person formats.

Our growing online CareLab Pet Project community is presented below. Click on the images to read how each person-pet relationship has informed someone's understanding or practice of care. Also watch for #petprojectwlu posts on Instagram and Facebook (@wlu.museums). A large-scale Pet Project exhibition will open on the main floor of Leyburn Library on November 1, 2022.

The CareLab Pet Project is a complement to the Museum Menagerie exhibition, a whimsical look at works of art that depict animals, presented in the Watson Galleries during the Fall Term of 2022.

Our community discussion of care and pets will continue with a CareLab event led by Dr. Megan Mueller titled Compassion and Connection across Species: The Psychology of Human-Animal Relationships (Wednesday, November 9, 2022 at 5 p.m. in Northen Auditorium). A reception will immediately follow in the Watson Galleries, where we will be surrounded by the Museum Menagerie.

Click on each pet image for the full story!